Sill-bolt socket



A. J. JOHNSON.

SILL BOLT SOCKET. APPLICATION FILED MAIL 3. 1922.

1 41:3534, 1211 o Patented 0011;. 311, 11922,.

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mfwizz JJawm ANTON J. JOHNSON, OF TRACY, MINNESOTA.

SILL-BOLT SOCKET.

Application filed March 3, 1922. Serial No. 540,871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Anron J. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States,residingat Tracy, in the county of Lyon and State of Minnesota, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Sill-Bolt Sockets, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The invention has reference to improvements in car construction andparticularly to the under-frame fastening means for sillbolts.

An object of the invention is to provide a reinforcing and bracingmember for the supporting sills of a car frame having a socket portionfor receiving the sill-bolts which are thereby held against turningmovement when being adjusted.

An additional object is to provide a reinforcing socket-member adaptedto be incorporated into the construction of the under frame of the carand serving to substantially brace this portion from excessive strain,particularly at the draft end of the frame.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent during the continuance of the following description.

Figure l is a plan view of a half-section of the under frame of the carshowing the manner of applying the invention thereto.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof, including a section of theflooring.

Figure 3 is a vertical, central, longitudinal section of one of the endsocket-plates, and,

Figure fl. is a similar sectional view of the center socket-plate.

As usually constructed, the under frame of a car consists of laterallyspaced, longitudinally extending timbers constituting the side sills,10. intermediate sills 11, and. two center sills 12. Connecting theSills at each end are crossed timbers respectively constituting an endstill Two draft sills '14-, are also provided at each end of the frameto support the draft-rigging such as indicated generally at 15. Thesedraft sills come directly below and. under the center sills to whichthey are secured by vertical. sill -bolts lb. These bolts are usuallyinserted through. the center sills from the top and have their lowerthreaded ends engaged with adjusting nuts 1'7. Centrally arrangedsill-bolts 18 are also used to hold the air brake cylinder 19 in place.This cylinder is usually located at the center of the frame and iscarried by suitable bracket means 20 which, is

bolted to the under side of each center sill as shown.

In laying the car floor 21, the same is ordinarily put down over thesill-bolts and, consequently, whenever these bolts are to be tightenedor broken bolts replaced, a section of the floor has to be removed andreplaced with a new section after the necessary repairs or adjustmentshave been made. This is recpiired. frequently throughout the life of thecar and necessitates a great waste of time, labor, and material. It isto overcome this faulty construction that the present invention has beendevised and it embodies the incorporation into the frame construction ofbracing plates serving to strengthen the sills and at the same timeprovide bolt-sockets which not only prevent the same from turning whilebeing tightened but also allow the convenient removal of the same forrepairs, Or otherwise, without any disturbance of the car flooring.

These plates are preferably divided into different sizes as indicatedrespectively in Figures 3 and 4-. In the smaller size, the plate isformed with a long and narrow block portion 22 having a base flange 23upon which it rests. The block may be cast or otherwise formed and ishollow on the inside as shown. Adjacent each end thereof, a squarerecess 24 is provided to receive the head of a. sill-bolt, the shank ofthe bolt passing downwardly through bolt opening 25 in the bottom of therecess. The recess of each socket portion is of such depth that the topof the bolt head lies flush with, or slightly below, the upper surfaceof the plate.

Five of these plates are used at each end of the frame and are arrangedcross-wise of the center sills 12 in relatively spaced relation. Theenlarged bases 23 support the plates firmly upon the sills so that theblock portions 22 are received in suitable slots or cutouts n-ovided inthe car flooring. The sill-bolts 16 of the draft-rigging may then besupported. at the socket end of each plate and either adjusted orremoved as may be required. without any difliculty. These plates,moreover. hold the separate sills to gether so that they cannot spread,thereby strengthening the sills and lengthening the life of the flooringaround the sockets.

When adjusting the nut 17 from under the car to tighten the bolt, thelatter is not only prevented from turning around in the socket but thesocket itself is held. from turning under pressure of the bolt head byreason of its being integrally formed with the middle or lntermedlateportion of the plate, the opposite socket-end of which is, of,

course, held in place by the sill-bolt of the adjacent center sill.These plates, therefore, serve to reinforce the frame at the draft endand to strengthen the timbers where the strain. and possibility ofdistortion probably are greatest. In the larger size as indicated at 22,the plate is preferably square or rectangular and provided with at leastthree bolt sockets 24L on opposite sides to hold the fixed sill boltsused to fasten air brake cylinder 19 in place, the plates being arrangedtransversely of thecenter sills with the bolt sockets supported on thetops of the sills. The use of the reinforcing plate in two sizes enablesthe frame to be properly strengthened and braced at pointsalong theseparate sills where the strains and stresses are of varying intensitiesand by having the socket portion open upwardly through the car floor,the removal of any of the sill-bolts can be conveniently effected andwithout a waste-of flooring or labor required to remove and replacesame.

Base flanges 23 project laterally from opposite sides of the block asshown to advantage in Figures '1 and 41 of the drawings, and theseflanges serve to firmly support the larger plate upon the separate sillsof the car frame. The upper surface of the plate lies flush with the carflooring as illustrated and thus exposes the headed end of the boltwhich may be removed as previously d scribed.

From the foregoing it is believed that the advantages and novel featuresof my invention will be readily understood and therefore furtherdetailed description is deemed unnecessary.

hat is claimed is 1. In a car construction, the combination with theflooring, center sills, and sill-bolts of the underframe, of reinforcingmembers spanning the center sills between the latter and the flooringand having bolt-sockets opening upwardly through the flooring andsupporting sill -holts exposed through the flooring for removal from theframe when required.

2. In a car construction, the combination with the car flooring, centersills and sillbolts of the underframe, of reinforcing plates disposedtransversely of the sills and connected thereto by means of the saidsillbolts, said plates serving to strengthen the center sills againstspreading and having a portion disposed upwardly through the carflooring, said upwardly disposed portions having bolt-sockets .forreceiving the heads of the said sill-bolts to prevent turning of thebolts when the latter are adjusted.

In a car construction, the combination with the car flooring, centersills below the flooring, reinforcing plate-s disposed crosswise of thesills and having their longitudi nal portions disposed upwardly throughthe llOOllIlg and lying flush therewith. said portions having squarerecesses forming bolt-sockets, and sill-bolts passing vertically throughthe center sills and through the said plates, the heads of the saidbolts being received in the sockets of the plates whereby the 'bolts areheld from turning when being adjusted.

4. In a car construction, the combination with a car frame having draftsills at a-d jacent ends, double center sills, and a flooring above thesills, of a plurality of reinforcing plates spanning the center sills ateach end of the frame and above the draft sills, a single platespanningthe center sills at the center of the frame, each of said sill spanningplates having socket-bearing portions extended upwardly through theflooring and lying flush therewith, and sill-bolts having their headedends received in the sockets of the said plates and their shanks passingdownwardly through the plates and center sills, and adjusting nutsengaging the shanks from below the said sills.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ANTON J. JOHNSON.

